The use of door security devices is well known in the prior art. Most of the door security devices being utilized require the use of keys, magnetic cards, smart cards, or the knowledge of a tumbler combination (letter and/or numeric), all of which put a burden upon the user to retain either the keys, magnetic cards, smart cards, or memorize the tumbler combination. If the door security device does not require the aforementioned keys, cards, or combinations, the security of the device is based on a non-positive mechanical securing or the door, however, as the door security device is not positive it can be disabled by merely loosening the mechanism that attaches the security device to the door.
In looking at the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,503 to Johansson, et al. disclosed is a keeper and a latch that secures a first member such as a door panel against a second member such as a corresponding frame. The keeper, see element 12 in FIG. 1, in Johansson is adapted for attachment to the second member and engages the latch in a fastened position, thus latching the slam latch element 10 against the keeper element 12 securing the door 102 in a closed position against the frame element 104. In Johansson, when the slam latch element 10 is positioned against the keeper element 12 as shown in FIG. 1, the engagement of the ratcheting teeth on the pawl element 16 and keeper element 12 provide holding force to retain the door element 102 in the closed state against the frame element 104, wherein coil spring element 110 adds extra holding force as between the keeper element 12 and the pawl element 16.
Further, in Johansson, the handle element 18 can retract, as shown in FIG. 13 or extend, as shown in FIG. 11, wherein the door element 102 will stay in the closed state and upon clockwise rotation of the handle element 18 thus retracting the pawl element 16 from the keeper element 12; the door element 102 can be opened by pulling the handle element 18. Thus, Johansson has a button and a latch, however, not specifically requiring a push and then a turn, however, the claim 1 states “using a predetermined movement of the knob” as when in the extended position, the knob is moved rotationally to unlatch the pawl, thus requiring two movements to unlatch the door, i.e. pulling the knob to an extended position and then rotating the knob.
Continuing in the prior art, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,201 to Hauber disclosed is a camper shell door latch which while locked from the outside is openable from within inside the camper shell by a push button nut element 38, which shifts out of locking engagement with a bushing shoulder of limited axial extent to free the latch for inside actuation. Wherein the purpose in Hauber is to make the door latch more theft proof via requiring axial force against the nut element 38 prior to applying rotational force against the inner handle element 46, thus making it difficult for a thief to push a hooking rod through a crack in the door opening and grabbing the inner handle element 46 and partially rotating the inner handle element 46 to open the door that is locked from the outside, however, allowing someone trapped inside the door to open the door by pushing the nut element 38 prior to turning the inner handle element 46, see FIG. 1. Thus, inside latch theft protection in Hauber can require pushing a button to rotate the latch or without any rotation, thus to prevent a rod from being inserted through a broken window to unlock the latch resulting in two movements required to unlock the door latch from inside the door while the outside of the door latch is locked.
Further, in the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,152 to Bisbing disclosed is a positive position indicator that is used on a variety of non-rotatable, cabinet slam-action pawl latches is disclosed. The indicator in Bisbing uses stored spring forces, stored in a thin, twin-leafed flat spring having a plurality of spring bends therein, to react against a latch keeper attached to the cabinet frame. The stored spring forces in Bisbing cause a spring tab to dislodge the latch pawl from an adjacent flat surface and move the latch housing and cabinet door away from the frame, thus resulting in a door that springs away from the frame to assist in the door “popping open” upon unlatching. In closing the door in Bisbing, “slam latching” is facilitated meaning that non-rotation is not required of the handle allowing the door to be slammed shut.
Next, in the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,976 to Larsen disclosed is a pop-up handle assembly having a base with a mounting panel and a tubular housing and a handle with a tubular stem that is axially movable within a hollow sleeve rotatable within the tubular housing. In Larsen, the handle mounts a key-plug which is depressible to release a lock pin carried by the tubular stem from engagement with a shoulder in the tubular housing whereby the handle pops-up, see going from FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C to an operative position under the urging of a spring. The key-plug is rotatable in Larsen between locked and unlocked positions and into an unlocked position that can be depressed to release the handle for movement without the use of a key. The handle assembly in Larsen has provision for pop-up of the handle from the inner side thereof to free the handle for rotation regardless of whether the key-plug is either locked or unlocked, so if the key button is depressed, but the handle must be used also to unlatch. Thus in referring to FIG. 2A in Larsen, it would be difficult for a thief to get a grasp upon the handle to initiate forced rotation to try to unlock the retracted handle assembly, wherein the key facilitates what is shown in FIG. 2C, thus allowing the handle to be rotated to unlock the handle assembly, thus having a single manual action of using the key and an automatic action of the handle extending via spring element 58.
Continuing, in the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,244 to Bisbing disclosed a latch of the pull-up type for a cabinet door that is latched and unlatched by turning the latch handle in one direction or the other. In Bisbing, when the door is in latched position, rotating the latch handle in the unlatching direction initially causes a spring-biased shaft, which carries a latching pawl, to move axially inwardly. This inward movement in Bisbing of the shaft is permitted because a cam in the handle is moved rotationally to present downwardly sloping cam surfaces to opposite ends of a cam-follower pin which is mounted on the shaft near its outer end.
In Bisbing, the shaft is prevented from rotating on its own axis until a motion-control cross pin, which is also mounted on the shaft, is moved inwardly a sufficient distance to escape from axial motion-control slots in a support sleeve which is mounted on the door at an opening therein and through which the shaft passes. As soon as the motion-control pin in Bisbing emerges from the motion-control slots, it is able to move laterally into lateral arcuate motion-control recesses in the support sleeve, thereby to allow the shaft and the latch pawl to turn out of the way of the cabinet frame. To latch the door in Bisbing, the action described takes place in reverse order, this has turning of the handle to cause automatic axial movement of the latch shaft.
What is needed is a door security apparatus that provides some measure of positive security for keeping the door in the closed operational state. In particular a door security apparatus that would require a sequence of manual movements for placing the door into the open operational state from the closed operational state. This sequence of manual movements would endeavor to be for the most part child proof in that a small child could not comprehend the requirement of the sequence of manual movements, being akin to a Japanese “Trick Box” that requires a specific sequence of manual movements to open, wherein any deviation of this specific sequence of manual movements will not allow the box to be opened. Wherein, an older child or adult could comprehend the required sequence of manual movements thus being able to open a cabinet door for instance and gain access to the contents behind the cabinet door.